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Articles by Shontarius D. Aikens
Academic Insight: The Best of Academic Insight
In December 2019, the first article in my Academic Insight column was published in Fargo, INC!. My dream and mission of bridging the gap between academia and business practitioners had begun. And, over these last three years, my goal has been to provide readers with quality content and perspectives that would help them improve the quality of their work and personal lives.
Academic Insight: Increasing Productivity
In this issue of Fargo, INC!, I will be sharing three tools and pieces of advice to help you improve your ability to prioritize tasks, to help you overcome procrastination and improve your ability to focus and to help you develop a mindset that can lead to more results over time. #1: The Eisenhower Matrix The purpose of the Eisenhower Matrix is to prioritize tasks based on their level of importance or urgency.
Academic Insight with Shontarius D. Aikens
The Strategy Canvas: Illustrating Organizational Strategy on a Single Page Is it possible to illustrate an organization’s strategy on a one page document? Absolutely! Authors W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne created a tool called The Strategy Canvas that does just that. When properly constructed, the result will be a document that will increase the likelihood that a proposed strategy can be easily understood by all members of the organization and that will most likely be implemented.
Asking the Right Questions with the Right Intentions
The science fiction film I, Robot is set in the year 2035. Del Spooner, a homicide detective in the Chicago Police Department, receives a phone call to investigate a crime scene. Upon arrival, Spooner is greeted by a hologram of the recently deceased Dr. Alfred Lanning, a co-founder of U.S. Robotics. Dr. Lanning’s hologram says: “It’s good to see you son.
Academic Insight: Understanding Industry Structure Using Porter's Five Forces
How well do you understand the structure of the industry you work in? This question should be of central importance to managers when it comes to business strategy and identifying opportunities and threats to a company’s bottom line.
Academic Insight: Additional Practical Advice for Nascent Managers and Supervisors
In the May 2021 issue of Fargo, INC!, I posed the following question: If I could go back in time and give advice to my younger self on being a first-time manager and supervisor, what advice would I give? If you read that article, you will know that this question came from a conversation I had with a graduating student seeking advice in preparation for their first managerial job. And the result was me sharing five pieces of advice for new managers and supervisors.
Power and Influence: Guidelines for New Managerial Leaders
I started working in my first managerial position in the year 2000, right after graduate school. And during those first weeks on the job, I spent a considerable amount of time developing relationships with my staff and colleagues and learning as much as possible about the building and areas I would oversee.
Academic Insight: What Motivates Your Employees
In the February 2020 issue of Fargo, INC!, I shared my perspectives on what managers and leaders can do to be intentional and purposeful when using technology within organizations. For those who have not read the original article, I’ve summarized the main points below: If you have been reading the news lately, you have been hearing about The Great Resignation. And as business owners, perhaps you have direct experiences with this event.
The 6SA Framework: Crafting an Argument in 120 words or less
The ability to craft an argument and to defend one’s position in a logical and succinct manner is a critical skill for managers. To help my upper-level management students improve in this area, I searched for various resources in the management education literature. I found an article written by Julian Kolbel and Erik Jentges (2018) titled The SixSentence Argument: Training Critical Thinking Skills Using Peer Review.
Being Intentional and Purposeful with Technology: Part 2
In the February 2020 issue of Fargo, INC!, I shared my perspectives on what managers and leaders can do to be intentional and purposeful when using technology within organizations. For those who have not read the original article, I’ve summarized the main points below: In the broadest terms, technology can be defined as “an object, a tool, or a set of means to accomplish a task,” (Funk, 1999).
Academic Insight: Overcoming Resistance To Change
Welcome to 2022! It’s a new year with new possibilities. New goals and new strategies. And with all that newness may come required changes. I think all of us know, especially when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, the idea of change is exciting and promising. However, the reality of implementing changes proves to be more difficult and challenging. Consider this scenario. Your organization has decided to adopt a new method, procedure, or software system to complete organizational tasks.
Increasing Your Value in The Workplace: A Holistic Approach for 2022
Shontarius D. Aikens, Ph.D., AssistantProfessor of Management at Offutt Schoolof Business at Concordia College Have you ever stopped to think about the value you bring to an organization? From a career development perspective, I believe this is an important question to ponder and reflect on from time to time.
Academic Insight: 6 Questions Guiding the Basics of Organizational Structure
You are taking a long-overdue and much-needed vacation, and you have chosen a destination. Good for you! Now, you must decide on the mode of transportation. If you have a limited number of vacation days and the destination is far away, air travel might be the best method. If you have a lot of vacation time and you want the option of sightseeing while traveling to your ultimate destination, ground transportation might be the best method.
Academic Insight: Workplace Culture Encourages Employee Retention
Shontarius D. Aikens, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Management at Offutt School of Business at Concordia College I want you to imagine or visualize your favorite place in the world. A place where you feel connected, energized, engaged, or that has a special purpose and meaning in your life. For some of you, this place may be on a beach, at the lake, on the golf course, or perhaps it could be in the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of your home.
Academic Insight: Analyzing Complex Problems Using 4 Paradigms
One of the many things that I stress to my management students is to learn how to analyze a situation, scenario, or problem in depth before determining a solution to resolve it. This is key because it is my position that the actions we take in response to a situation can be traced back toour understanding and perception of the situation itself. Each of us is faced with a myriad of decisions both in our personal lives and in our careers. Some decisions are easy and straightforward.
Academic Insight: Creating Valuable User Guides and Handbooks
A key focus in the management discipline is the effective and efficient allocation and use of resources. Traditionally, resources are grouped into four different types or categories: Physical, Financial, Human and Intellectual. I’ve often shared with my students that another resource that often gets overlooked is the resource of Time.
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